Mortgage applications jumped 1.2 percent from a week ago, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The group said falling mortgage rates are behind the uptick — and falling mortgage rates are due to a broader slowdown in wages and economic growth.
"Purchase applications continued to be hampered by broader weakness in the housing market and declined slightly over the week, with the index slipping to its lowest level since 2014,” said Joel Kan, vice president and deputy chief economist at MBA.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell 16 basis points from 6.58 percent to 6.42 percent.
There was also a notable bump in refinancing applications. Their share of mortgage activity increased to 30.7 percent from 30.3 percent a week ago, also on the back of falling mortgage interest rates.
This is still down 80 percent from a year ago, when rock-bottom rates led to a spree of refinancing activity.
A former Facebook executive pled guilty to stealing more than $4 million from the company while she was employed there.
Rising safety concerns over water bead products marketed to kids have prompted major retailers like Amazon, Target and Walmart to pull some toys off their shelves.
The Congressional Budget Office said Friday it expects inflation to nearly hit the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate in 2024, as overall growth is expected to slow and unemployment is expected to rise into 2025, according to updated economic projections for the next two years.
Intel is out with a new product to challenge other big players in the space like Nvidia and AMD.
Stocks fell after the opening bell Friday but will end on another positive week.
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Americans picked up their spending from October to November as the unofficial holiday season kicked off, underscoring that shoppers still have power to keep buying.
The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate dropped below 7% to its lowest level since early August, another boost for prospective homebuyers who have largely been held back by sharply higher borrowing costs and heightened competition for relatively few homes for sale.
Mortgage rates have dropped below 7% for the first time since the middle of August.
Taylor Swift grossed nearly $2 billion this year, according to Billboard.
